Ventilator



Ma h 2 1964 R. A. GROUT ETAL 3,125,941

VENTILATOR Filed March 13, 1961 RUiSELL A. GRO

G CHARLES EAVOTTE IN VENTORS A T TORNEVS- United States Patent 3,125,941 VENTILATOR Russell A. Grout, Royal Oak, and Charles E. Ayotte, Livonia, Mich., assignors to Ford Motor Company, Dearborn, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Filed Mar. 13, 1961, Ser. No. 95,053 8 Claims. (Cl. 9818) This invention relates to a fresh air intake ventilator particularly adapted for use in motor vehicle bodies.

Fresh air intake ventilators, particularly those positioned on a vehicle body to receive intake air through the ram effect of vehicle movement, must meet certain performance requirements. Such ventilators must be able to supply a maximum quantity of air at all vehicle speeds; they must effectively separate water from the entering air so that no water will enter the vehicle while it is in motion in inclement or rainy weather; and they must effectively prevent water entry during manual or automatic vehicle washes.

The Water separation problem is particularly critical. It is not difiicult to accomplish satisfactory water separation at the expense of the quantity of air flow through the ventilator or by increasing the size of the ventilator. It is extremely difficult to accomplish water separation with a relatively shallow ventilator which is required to furnish a large quantity of ventilation air.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an air intake ventilator of extremely shallow depth but capable of achieving air quantity and water separation comparable with much larger systems.

The ventilator embodying the present invention comprises a ventilator shell in which are positioned primary and secondary baffles. Air and water enter the ventilator assembly at a velocity dependent upon car speed and are turned through a substantial angle by the primary and secondary bafiles. In turning, a portion of the water in the air impinges upon the baffles and drains out the front of the ventilator. The air and remaining water continue to the side of the duct where flow is again turned. As before, additional water impinges on the side of the ventilator and is drained off. The air and what little water is left enters a low pressure area formed immediately behind the primary baffie where air flow is again turned through a substantial angle and discharged into the vehicle. The remaining water is removed from the air in the low pressure area behind the primary bafiie. Water is discharged from the ventilator through a drain. The baflles are arranged to prevent passage of water through the ventilator when the vehicle is being washed.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will become more apparent as this description proceeds particularly when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a ventilator embodying this invention with a portion broken away to more clearly show the details of construction.

FIGURE 2 is a transverse cross sectional view of the device shown in FIGURE 1.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, a ventilator embodying this invention is shown generally at 11. Ventilator 11 has a shell 12 consisting of front 13, side 14, rear 15, top 16 and bottom 17 walls. Front wall 13 is formed with an air inlet opening 18. Rear wall 15 is formed with an air outlet opening 19.

The quantity of air flow through ventilator 11 is controlled by the vent door 21. Vent door 21 is pivotally supported in a suitable manner on rear wall 15 for movement from the open position shown to a closed position in which air flow through ventilator 11 is prevented. The outer perimeter of door 21 is provided with the ice resilient gasket 22 which forms an effective air tight seal with the marginal portion of outlet opening 19 when door 21 is closed. Door 21 is formed with a rotatable latch member 23 which coacts with the upturned tab 24 on back wall 15 to lock door 21 in the closed position.

Front wall 13 of shell 12 is adapted to be suitably secured to one of the outer body panels of the passenger compartment. Inlet opening 18 is formed to be positioned in registry with a similar opening formed in the body sheet metal. A resilient gasket 25 is bonded or otherwise secured to the marginal portion of inlet opening 18 to provide an air seal between the front wall 13 and the adjacent body sheet metal. The contour of front wall 13 is constructed to conform to the shape of the adjacent body sheet metal.

The internal construction of ventilator 11 will now be described in detail with particular reference to FIGURE 2 wherein the path of the air flow through the ventilator 11 is shown. The direction of the incoming air flow is diverted by a V-shaped primary bafile 26 and angularly disposed secondary baflles 2'7. Baflles 26 and 27 extend vertically for the full height of shell 12 and are suitably secured, as by spot welding, at their upper ends to top wall 16 and at their lower ends to bottom wall 17.

Assuming that door 21 is open, outside air will enter inlet opening 18 at a rate dependent upon the velocity of vehicle travel. In rain or heavy fog, water droplets will also enter ventilator 11. In FIGURE 2 the path of air travel is illustrated by the solid arrows. The path traversed by the water is shown by broken arrows. A portion of the entering water droplets impinge upon and are deposited on bafiles 27 and the leading face of bafile 26. The flow of the entering air and the remaining water droplets is turned by the leading face of primary baflie 26 and secondary baffles 27 through a substantial angle and directed against side 14 and rear 15 walls of shell 12. Further water droplets will impinge against and be deposited on walls 14 and 15. The conformation of side 14 and rear 15 walls again diverts the flow through a substantial angle and directs the flow toward the trailing face of primary baflle 26. The ribs 28 formed in rear wall 15 aid in so directing the flow. The bulk of the remaining water droplets will impinge upon the trailing edge of baffie 26 and will be deposited thereon. The conformation of the trailing face of primary baffle 27 again alters the direction of air flow turning it through a substantial angle and directing the substantially dry air out through outlet opening 19 into the interior of the vehicle.

Bafiles 26 and 27 are formed with ribs or corrugations 29 which, in addition to assisting in the water separation by creating turbulence in the air flow, prevent water deposited on bafiles 26 and 27 from flowing to the trailing edges of the bafiles and re-entering the air stream.

The vertical disposition of the baflies 26 and 27, side wall 14 and rear wall 15 causes the water droplets deposited thereon to flow down toward the bottom shell wall 17. Bottom wall 17 of shell 12 is canted downwardly toward the inlet opening 18. Water deposited on secondary baffles 27 and the leading face of primary bafile 26 and side walls 14 flows down onto bottom wall 17 and out inlet opening 18 as shown by the arrows. Water deposited on a trailing face of primary baffle 26 and on back wall 15 will be channeled toward the bight of primary bafile 26. A well 31 is formed in this area of bottom wall 17 where the water will collect. The water is drawn out of the spigot 32 contained in well 31 through a flexible conduit (not shown) to be expelled below the vehicle body. It should be noted that at high velocity the air flow may tend to cause the water which collects on bottom wall 17 to flow upward against the incline of wall 17 toward back wall 15. Outlet opening 19, although axially aligned with inlet opening 18 is raised slightly with respect to bottom wall 17 and is provided with an upwardly extending lip 33 to prevent any collected water from flowing from bottom wall 17 into the vehicle interior under this condition.

As may be seen, the conformation of shell 12 and baffles 26 and 27 directs the air flow through a labyrinthine air flow path which centrifuges Water droplets from the air in three stages. The last stage of separation takes place in the bight of V-shaped primary baffle 26. The air flow creates a partial vacuum in this area thus increasing the efficiency of the water separation in the final stage.

The positioning of baflles 26 and 27 also prevent a straight line flow from inlet 18 to outlet 19 prohibiting the entry of a stream of water to the vehicle interior even though the water flow may be directed into opening 18.

It will be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the exact construction shown and described, but that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as defined in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A ventilator adapted to be mounted in a vehicle body in a position to receive intake air through the ram eifect of vehicle movement,

said ventilator comprising:

a shell having front, rear, top, bottom and side walls with the front and rear walls having apertures therein,

said front wall aperture comprising an air inlet opening and said rear wall aperture an air outlet opening when in vehicle body mounted position of said ventilator;

a water separation baffle extending between said top and bottom walls,

said baffle being substantially V-shaped with the apex of the V in juxtaposition to said front wall and substantially vertically bisecting said air inlet opening,

each leg of said V-shaped baffle extending at an acute angle to said front wall and terminating in spaced relationship to a respective side wall of said shell to form an air passageway around the terminal end of each leg,

the extent of each leg being such that said bafile prevents straight line air flow from said air inlet opening to said air outlet opening,

the abrupt change of direction resulting from the impingement of an air stream on said baflle causing air-water separation and air flow diversion to said side walls and the further change of direction resulting from air flow around said baffle to said air outlet providing further airwater separation,

and a water outlet located in said bottom wall within the bight of said V-shaped baffle providing for drainage of water from said shell.

2. A ventilator according to claim 1 in which said shell is substantially rectangular in cross section with the width of the front and rear walls being substantially greater than the depth of the side walls.

3. A ventilator according to claim 1 in which said bafile is formed with a plurality of corrugations extending in a direction parallel to the apex of said baffie,

said baffle corrugations increasing the turbulence of air flow thereover to more effectively cause separation of water from the air stream.

4. A ventilator according to claim 2 in which said bafile is formed with a plurality of corrugations extending in a direction parallel to the. apex of said baffle,

said bafile corrugations increasing the turbulence of air flow thereover to more effectively cause separation of water from the air stream.

5. A ventilator adapted to be mounted in a vehicle body in a position to receive intake air through the ram effect of vehicle movement,

said ventilator comprising:

a shell having front, rear, top, bottom and side walls with the front and rear walls having apertures therein,

said front wall aperture comprising an air inlet opening and said rear wall aperture an air outlet opening in vehicle body mounted position of said ventilator;

water separation baflles extending between said top and bottom walls comprising primary and secondary baflles,

said primary bafile being substantially V-shaped with the apex of the V in juxtaposition to said front wall and substantially vertically bisecting said air inlet opening,

each leg of said V-shaped primary baffle extending at an acute angle to said front wall and terminating in spaced relationship to a respective side wall of said shell to form an air passageway around the terminal end of each leg,

the extent of each leg being such that said primary bafile prevents straight line air flow from said air inlet opening to said air outlet opening,

said secondary baifies comprising a baflle plate located between each leg of said V-shaped primary bafile and the respective side Wall of said shell to direct air flow into the respective passageways around the ends of said V-shaped primary bafiie legs,

the abrupt change of direction resulting from the impingement of an air stream on said primary and secondary bafiles causing air-water separation and air flow diversion to said side walls and the further change of direction resulting from air flow around said primary baffie to said air outlet opening providing further air-water separation,

and a water outlet located in said bottom Wall within the bight of said V-shaped baffle providing for drainage of Water from said shell.

6. A ventilator according to claim 5 in which said shell is substantially rectangular in cross section with the width of the front and rear walls being substantially greater than the depth of the side walls.

7. A ventilator according to claim 5 in which said primary and secondary baffles are formed with a plurality of corrugations extending in a direction parallel to the apex of said V-shaped primary baffle,

said corrugations being effective to increase the turbulence of air flowing thereover to further increase the air-water separation .etfect of said bafiies.

8. A ventilator according to claim 6 in which said primary and secondary baffies are formed with a plurality of corrugations extending in a direction parallel to the apex of said V-shaped primary baffle,

said corrugations being effective to increase the turbulence of air flowing thereover to further increase the air-water separation effect of said bafiles.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,955,834 Ruemelin Apr. 24, 1934 2,339,441 Turner Jan. 18, 1944 2,354,795 Castle Aug. 1, 1944 2,476,368 Guernsey July 19, 1949 2,492,294 Kennedy Dec. 27, 1949 2,711,126 Atkinson June 21, 1955 

1. A VENTILATOR ADAPTED TO BE MOUNTED IN A VEHICLE BODY IN A POSITION TO RECEIVE INTAKE AIR THROUGH THE RAM EFFECT OF VEHICLE MOVEMENT, SAID VENTILATOR COMPRISING: A SHELL HAVING FRONT, REAR, TOP, BOTTOM AND SIDE WALLS WITH THE FRONT AND REAR WALLS HAVING APERTURES THEREIN, SAID FRONT WALL APERTURE COMPRISING AN AIR INLET OPENING AND SAID REAR WALL APERTURE AN AIR OUTLET OPENING WHEN IN VEHICLE BODY MOUNTED POSITION OF SAID VENTILATOR; A WATER SEPARATION BAFFLE EXTENDING BETWEEN SAID TOP AND BOTTOM WALLS, SAID BAFFLE BEING SUBSTANTIALLY V-SHAPED WITH THE APEX OF THE V IN JUXTAPOSITION TO SAID FRONT WALL AND SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICALLY BISECTING SAID AIR INLET OPENING, EACH LEG OF SAID V-SHAPED BAFFLE EXTENDING AT AN ACUTE ANGLE TO SAID FRONT WALL AND TERMINATING IN SPACED RELATIONSHIP TO A RESPECTIVE SIDE WALL OF SAID SHELL TO FORM AN AIR PASSAGEWAY AROUND THE TERMINAL END OF EACH LEG, THE EXTENT OF EACH LEG BEING SUCH THAT SAID BAFFLE PREVENTS STRAIGHT LINE AIR FLOW FROM SAID AIR INLET OPENING TO SAID AIR OUTLET OPENING, THE ABRUPT CHANGE OF DIRECTION RESULTING FROM THE IMPINGEMENT OF AN AIR STREAM ON SAID BAFFLE CAUSING AIR-WATER SEPARATION AND AIR FLOW DIVERSION TO SAID SIDE WALLS AND THE FURTHER CHANGE OF DIRECTION RESULTING FROM AIR FLOW AROUND SAID BAFFLE TO SAID AIR OUTLET PROVIDING FURTHER AIRWATER SEPARATION, AND A WATER OUTLET LOCATED IN SAID BOTTOM WALL WITHIN THE BIGHT OF SAID V-SHAPED BAFFLE PROVIDING FOR DRAINAGE OF WATER FROM SAID SHELL. 